'Doesn't make sense': Blinken nixes meeting with Lavrov on Ukraine after Russia's move

US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Tuesday called off a scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, saying that "it does not make sense" in the face of Moscow's attempt to aggravate tensions along with east Ukraine. The meeting was set to be held in the coming week in Geneva to push Russia for diplomatic avenues on the Ukraine crisis. However, while addressing a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba yesterday, Blinken asserted, Moscow making visible attempts to invade Ukraine "made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy."

"Last week, I agreed to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week on February 24 to discuss our countries' respective concerns about European security but only if Russia did not invade Ukraine," US State Secretary Antony Blinken said in his statement.

"Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time," he added.

Blinken's statement comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine - Donetsk and Luhansk and deployed "peacekeeping forces" in the region. The move has been largely criticised by the international community, with US President Joe Biden and top officials of the European Union (EU) saying that Putin's move "marks the beginning" of a new pretext for war from Russia. Shortly after Russia's announcement, Biden swiftly imposed the first tranche of "firm" sanctions as a response.

Blinken affirm US' commitment to diplomacy

Addressing the media alongside Kuleba, Blinken informed that he had sent a letter to his Russian counterpart conveying his decision. He also affirmed that the US remains committed to diplomacy. "If Russia is prepared to take demonstrable steps to provide the international community with any degree of confidence it's serious about de-escalating and finding a diplomatic solution." As per reports, Blinken had proposed the meeting with his Russian counterpart last week in order to discuss steps that would deter Moscow's aggressive approach and "resolve the crisis without conflict."

For a recap, the Russia-Ukraine border crisis was exacerbated in past months after Moscow deployed nearly 1,90,000 along the eastern Ukraine borders. On Saturday, separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization despite a frequent warning from the Western leaders of invoking stringent sanctions-- both politically and economically. The Western nations have repeatedly raised concerns over Russia's expansions of force in separatist-controlled regions, with the US saying invasion could "happen any time soon." However, the Kremlin has routinely maintained that it "does not" pose threat to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(Image: AP)